The ancient Lithuanian customs were formed on the basis of the life of farmers and parish communities. The 20th century has witnessed rapid social changes: its first half was very favourable for the individual initiatives of farmers, but in the 50's with the appearance of collective farms, individual initiatives were suppressed altogether. After the farmers were deprived of land, agricultural customs related to every foot of the native land, its fields and forests which had been lovingly cherished down the centuries, lost their meaning for the farmer. Calendar customs have been luckier. Despite the attempts of the official ideology to destroy them, they have been preserved much better.
J. Kudirka "THE LITHUANIANS"